Lemmee splain:
The Max motors extend further forward than other 737s. At high angles of attack the engine nacelle produces lift causing an added pitch up.
So Boeing designed a system to drive the nose down, the MCAS:
Maneuvering Characteristic Augmentation System
MCAS is supposed to be disabled with the flaps are extended such as a takeoff.
If however the pilots didn’t set the flap trim correctly, you could have a problem when climbing.
Or, there could be a damaged or malfunctioning AOA (angle of attack) vane/sensor.
In either case, the pilot should:
A. Turn off the autopilot.
B. Oppose the trim manually with the yoke.
C. If that doesn’t work, then you turn off the STAB trim cutout switches.
The critical question is, the position of the two STAB (Stabilizer Trim) cutout switches (Main Electric and Autopilot).
Control systems can fail, Boeing thought of that. Pilots are supposed to know how to manually take over and fly the airplane.
Disengaging autopilot enables MCAS. Flaps coming all the way up engages it also. The system was not even revealed until after the first crash so pilots had to figure out WTH was happening. His normal analysis and problem solving was less effective without knowing the system he needed to kill.
But thanks for playing.
Control systems can fail, Boeing thought of that. Pilots are supposed to know how to manually take over and fly the airplane.
...
You’ve got it. And on a previous flight of the Lion Air aircraft that crashed, the pilots handled the problem correctly.